At one point during the January transfer window, it almost looked inevitable that Jeremy Jacquet would end up at Chelsea. But by the end of the month, Jacquet had agreed a move to Liverpool.
After just 30 Rennes appearances and little over 50 at club level, Chelsea had identified a move for Jacquet. The Blues accelerated summer plans to bring Jacquet to the club in the January window.
But it quickly emerged that Rennes wanted top dollar. Julien Laurens said Rennes wanted more for Jacquet than the fee received for Jeremy Doku and ultimately, Chelsea failed to come to an agreement.
How much would you be willing to pay for Jeremy Jacquet?đź’°
Rennes name Jeremy Jacquet price tag
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Interest from Liverpool, Arsenal, and even Real Madrid emerged towards the end of the window, and on deadline day, Liverpool confirmed the signing of Jacquet, believed to have cost around ÂŁ60m in total.
Christophe Dugarry thinks Liverpool have overpaid for Jacquet
Many deem the fee spent on Jacquet as expensive given his lack of experience. World Cup winner and former Birmingham star Christophe Dugarry has gone a step further, describing Liverpool as “suckers”.
Jeremy Jacquet in action for Rennes.
Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Speaking on RMC’s Radio show, as per TalkSPORT, Dugarry said: “This isn’t meant to offend the player, honestly, he’s not to blame at all, and we wish him all the best because he’s a good player.
“But when you have suckers like that… well done to Rennes. Rennes managed to find a sucker like Liverpool that was [willing to pay] €70m (£60m),” Dugarry summarised, on Liverpool’s new signing.
Do Chelsea even need a new central defender right now?
As things stand, Chelsea have Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Mamadou Sarr, Axel Disasi, Levi Colwill and Aaron Anselmino to choose from. A plethora of options.
DISCUSS: Chelsea need Rudiger more than they need Jacquet. đź‘€
It just makes sense…
Parlour says Rudiger should rejoin Chelsea
But Tosin and Colwill are injured, the former set for a couple more weeks on the sidelines and Colwill unlikely to play for months. Anselmino and Disasi have joined Strasbourg and West Ham on loan.
Sarr has been recalled with Chelsea unable to bring a new central defender to the club. But with so many options contracted to the club, did Chelsea really need Jacquet? Do Chelsea need a defender, at all?
If Chelsea do go after a centre-back, surely it makes sense to sign a more-experienced player that the others can learn from. A Thiago Silva-type figure. Ray Parlour suggested re-signing Antonio Rudiger.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox